The Associated Press
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — An 8-year-old boy is recovering at a hospital after being pinned between the steel and wrought-iron ornamental spikes of a mechanical gate at an apartment complex in San Bernardino.
The Sun newspaper says emergency responders initially feared the boy had been impaled on the quarter-inch spikes Saturday evening.
A crowd gathered at the scene as several people tried to free the boy, who was hanging about 6 feet off the ground. Firefighters cut away the surrounding fencing and freed him in about 20 minutes.
Firefighters said the boy did not have any broken bones or any punctures in his skin. He was listed in stable condition Sunday.
Firefighters said the boy was climbing over the gate when someone in the complex activated it. He was dragged through the gate support when he got stuck.